Women's Swimming & Diving Participates in One Million Meters for Soren

DOVER, N.H. – The University of New
Hampshire swimming & diving team joined others in the Seacoast
community, raising money for six-year old Soren in his battle with
cancer at the Jenny Thompson Pool on Sunday, Sept. 8.

A swimmer for Seacoast, Soren was diagnosed with Burkitt's
Lymphoma, a form of blood cancer in July. The mother, Erika Cooper,
is the aquatics director at UNH, while her husband Vaughn works as
a professor in the department of Molecular, Cellular, and
Biomedical Sciences at UNH as well. Soren will under go treatment
at Boston Children’s Hospital.

To help deflate the costs of treatment, transportation, food and
lodging, members of the Seacoast Swimming Community organized the
event. Nicole Benson, a former assistant coach of current head
coach Josh Willman, is one of the chief
organizers of the event.

In addition to the UNH swimmers, there were over 200
participants during Sunday’s event. Those teams, which
reached out as far as Florida, swam approximately 20,000 meters for
the cause.

After hearing about Soren's cancer diagnosis, “I had a pit
in my stomach because I have children, too,” said Benson, who
has four children of her own.

Over 200 participants swam for 1,019,975 meters - translating to
approximately 634 miles - and fundraised $18,157 for Soren and the
Cooper family.

“One Million Meters For Soren” is also offering a
virtual component to the fundraiser. Participants can go to a local
swimming pool, swim as long as they want, and then take a picture
of themselves with a piece of paper or whiteboard, with their
names, how far they swam and an inspirational message for Soren.
Pictures can be e-mailed to OneMillionMilesforSoren@hotmail.com.